Using Email Marketing to Nurture Industrial Sales Leads

Posted On Tuesday, January 12, 2016 by Robert Smith

Lead nurturing involves warming up prospective clients so they are more can be considered a ore qualified lead for your business. Just because a prospect has given you his or her contact information doesn't necessarily mean they are ready to make a purchase. They'll often need “nurturing” to convince them that your industrial products or services is the right choice for their business – something that email marketing can prove highly useful in accomplishing.

Why Nurtured Leads are Important

Before we reveal the process for nurturing industrial sales leads via email, let's first discuss the importance of lead nurturing. Some business owners view it as an unnecessary step that consumes invaluable time and resources. While there's no rule – written or otherwise – stating that you must nurture your sales leads, doing so will almost certainly prove beneficial.

According to a study conducted by The Annuitas Group, nurtured leads make 47% larger purchases than non-nurtured leads. This is because nurturing allows business owners to upsell their prospects with bigger orders. Instead of purchasing a basic 5,000 lb forklift, for instance, you may able to convince the prospect to buy a 10,000-12,000 lb industrial forklift. Or maybe the prospect was not aware that you also sell service plans for the equipment as well. Larger orders such as this typically means higher profit margins and/or a recurring contract.

Tips on Using Email to Nurture Industrial Leads:

Begin with a non-commercial introductory email. One of the most common email marketing mistakes that industrial suppliers make is blasting their leads with an excessive number of commercial adverts. Before sending your leads marketing emails, you should send a non-commercial email introducing yourself.

Engage prospects by asking questions. When creating emails, try asking prospective clients questions about their business and what they are hoping to accomplish. Doing so promotes a higher level of engagement with prospects, nurturing them so they are more likely to convert into paying clients when they are ready.

Explain how your products or services will benefit their business. Rather than listing the features of your industrial equipment or service, explain the benefits. In other words, tell prospective clients how your equipment or service can benefit their business; not what it does.

Watch for signs of progress. Nurturing leads via email is an ongoing process. As such, you should pay close attention to how prospects are responding. If they are warming up, then perhaps it's time to pitch your product or service. If they are growing cold, you may need a little more time before pitching them. WIth most email service providers, you can view who clicked on your email, who just skimmed it, etc. This can be valuable information for your sales team to have.

Don't forget the phone. The advent of email has reshaped the way in which businesses communicate with their target audience. Now, you can send messages and marketing material to prospective clients with just a few clicks of the mouse. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that phone calls are obsolete. On the contrary, cold calling and sales calls should be used to compliment your digital marketing efforts.